


owls and larks

by 10hr10minute



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-13
Updated: 2017-02-13
Packaged: 2018-09-24 02:45:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9696266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/10hr10minute/pseuds/10hr10minute
Summary: because jihoon found them to be pretty opposite, and soonyoung believed that different people are attracted to each other. the conclusion is simple.(college!au)





	

**Author's Note:**

> \- once again a lot more ramblings at the end  
> \- only small warnings for instances of vulgarities, and like one scene with alcohol  
> \- i hope you have some fun reading this. happy valentine's day to all! and carat day to all the carats!

Sometimes Jihoon waxed philosophical about the immiscibility of oil and water.

Think about it, does water hate oil or vice versa? Untrue, isn’t it. It just so happened that the force of attraction between the molecules of the same liquid is greater than the force of attraction between the two liquids.

A law as inevitable as it were unchanging.

And there are people like that, Jihoon thought, people who kind of exist in the same stratosphere but will never collide. Not because they dislike or repel each other, but they just don’t mix even when they touch.

There were times when that thought turned a little more depressing, like when he scrolled through the Facebook status updates of the people he went to primary school with. Some of them he waved to maybe only once, but back then everyone wanted more, more, more friends for their digital profiles.

Now he largely ignored most of them and what they were doing with their lives, barely read a full sentence as his fingers swiped and swiped.

He doesn’t hate them though, of course not. He hardly knew them after all.

Jihoon thinks the same about some people in his life right now. Already he was confident of those he was more likely to never meet or talk to again after his university years were over. For example his seatmate, who would occasionally ask to borrow a pen, or the guy by the window who was constantly tardy.

Or even someone like Kwon Soonyoung, he supposed.

Kwon Soonyoung who was loud and boisterous. He speaks a lot in class, he has a lot of friends, and for the first two stops at least, he goes home the same way as Jihoon. That was the extent of them.

Yet, Jihoon was content. Again, he wanted to reiterate that he didn’t bear any ill will towards any of those people; they’ve just never clicked.

Though he was quickly changing his mind about that last guy.

“Does he intend to leave me to do all the work?!” Jihoon almost shrieked.

Flinching slightly, Chan looked warily over to him. “Maybe he’s busy?” He offered.

Jihoon was going to give himself wrinkles frowning that hard. But he opened the app on his phone one more time just in case. Grey ticks, delivered, 16:03. Blue ticks, read, …

“I’m going to fucking kill him.”

The clock struck 12, bringing with it the next official day, with Jihoon still on the couch, phone and laptop by his side, Chan at the desk face obscured by a textbook.

“I’m sure Soonyoung hyung has a good reason. He’s not this type of person.”

Nonetheless Chan felt himself falter when his friend threw over another glare.

Jihoon heaved a sigh, allowing himself to sink deeper into the couch, thoughts of his current predicament creeping into his head. The memory of it was surprisingly dull.

There were three main aims of General Education as a module. One, encourage exposure among students across disciplines. Viva school spirit. Two, instil critical thinking methods into students such that they’ll be more analytical when making conclusions. Three, extra suffering.

That afternoon found Jihoon sitting quietly in his corner. As far as he knew, he was the only student who came from the Arts department there, so he always showed up early to take the corner seats.

The class was typical too. Lecturer droned on in the front, students secretly surfing their social media from behind their laptops. Even when a paired assignment was dropped on them, there were only small pockets of reaction.

As a means of spicing things up, the lecturer made everyone draw a card from a deck of Old Maid, “pair up with whoever’s card matches yours.”

“Sorry, My Mistake”

He quickly prayed for that not to be an omen. The owner of the other “Sorry, My Mistake” card turned out to be Kwon Soonyoung.

Jihoon knew of him more than he knew him.

During their first lesson, when everyone was made to stand in a circle and introduce themselves.

“My name’s Soonyoung, call me soon.”

A few people chuckled, Jihoon couldn’t remember if he was one of them.

And then, during their first presentations, their individual presentations, Soonyoung stood confidently at the front, giving his analysis on a Florence and The Machine music video. He had this steady gaze and firm voice. The slides were well done, and the clothes he wore fit him perfectly.

So all things considered, it wasn’t that bad to have him as a partner. He should be pretty content, as a matter of fact, and he sent the other guy a message after class in high spirits. 

_Hi, I’m your partner for the GenEd project. Nice to meet you. When do you think we can start working on it?_  

Sent 16:03.

The fact that Chan also knew the guy was a bit of a surprise. Talk about small world, right? He knew Chan because he knew Jeonghan, and the longhaired senior practically adopted the younger boy after being his group leader during orientation camp. Chan knew Soonyoung because they were in the same dance school.

“Look, hyung, I’ll try talking to him for you, okay?” Chan said, finally putting his book down, pages first so he doesn’t lose his progress.

Jihoon clicked his tongue at him, eyes trained on the protesting spine. Chan scrambled to pick the book back up, leaving his index finger between the pages as an alternative.

“I’ll talk to him for you.”

“Know what, I’ll talk to him myself. Tell me where he’ll be at tomorrow.”

“That might be a little extre-“ Jihoon raised an eyebrow. “I heard he’ll be in the dance studio all morning.”

Jihoon hummed at that, and they fell back into silence, doing their own things.

* * *

 

The next morning, there is sunlight in his face and the _‘memareun gaseumsoge jeoksyeojul mellodi’_ of his alarm filling his ears. Jihoon couldn’t help curling extra hard into his pillow. 

At first he succeeds, the sensations melting away back into that emptiness of unconsciousness. Then a shrill ringing sound pierces through, evoking this guttural sound he wasn’t even aware he could create. 

He reached out his hand, fumbling, until he managed to grab his phone.

“What?” He demanded.

“This is your morning call, delivered by your best hyung. It’s time to get your ass up o’clock.”

“Fuck off, Jeonghan.”

“It kind of loses its kick when you say that every morning.” Jeonghan teased. “Anyway, get up already, you’re really going to be late.”

Jihoon pulled the phone from his ear to check the time. 10:10. ‘Oh shit.’ He thought.

“Oh shit.” He said.

From the other end, Jeonghan’s cackling could still be heard but Jihoon’s got no time for that at the moment. He focused all of his energy into dressing up, and then he’s out the door before anyone could say ‘sorry, my mistake’.

While he’s on the bus, there was the itchy discomfort in the back of his throat, worry for his perfect attendance, pressing itself against him. Initially, he tried to will the bus faster but the longer that went without fruition, the more energy gathered in his limbs until he was whipping out his phone as a distraction.

He looked through his notifications. His eyes widen.

From: Kwon Soonyoung (at 05:49)

omg im super srry i didn’t realise u sent me a msg we can start whenever i should b ok most days aft 6 cept mon n thrs n wkends

Jihoon eyed the time of the message first, then he got to the body. He should be elated that he finally got a response, and the guy even seemed sincerely apologetic, but the bus just stopped at another traffic light and there wasn’t a single punctuation in his text, so Jihoon’s not feeling that generosity.

 

**From: Lee Jihoon**

You fucking piece of shit  
*.

 

**From: Kwon Soonyoung**  

???

 

**From: Lee Jihoon**

Meet me at the main library at 6.

* * *

 

Predictably, he was late. 

Joshua had saved him a seat though, and also emailed him notes from the portions he missed as soon as the first break came around.

“Are you okay?” He asked, gently.

Sweet, lovely, Joshua.

“I overslept.” Jihoon grumbled, pouting. Arriving ten minutes after class started was automatically marked as absent, and Jihoon couldn’t believe it in the slightest.

Joshua was good-natured about it at least. He patted his shoulder once. “Just ask me if there is anything you don’t get from the notes, alright. Ms Choi recapped composition techniques from last week at the start so I don’t think you missed much.”

Jihoon had to smile back at him after all he’s done.

They sit through the rest of the lesson. Jihoon couldn’t help fidgeting in his seat. Theory lessons could get really, really dry. The lecturer’s voice stretching into infinity as she named various technical terms, all while being backed up by plain white slides and Arial font 20.

As soon as she let them go for a toilet break, Jihoon dropped his head into his arms.

“By the way,” Joshua started, a twinkle in his eyes from a memory freshly recalled, “these are for you.”

From his bag, he pulled out a pretty box of chocolates – Belgian, wrapped in gold ribbons, and the price label still stuck on the top corner.

“I’m not joining Seungcheol’s rap team.” Jihoon declared.

“No these are from me.” Joshua replied, smiling, showing too much teeth.

“You’re a crap liar.”

Joshua shrugged. “Well, as long as it goes on the record that I tried.” He began untying the ribbon anyway.

“But I see where Cheol is coming from,” He said more sincerely. “I mean you have rapped befor-”

Jihoon’s stuffing expensive Belgian chocolate in the other’s mouth before he could continue that line of thought.

* * *

 

Not so predictably, he was late for the library meet up too. 30 minutes after the hour, a lot of cussing under his breath when he finally stepped into the place, placing all his things down in a hurry. 

Soonyoung was fuming.

It was kind of funny, because he’d never seen Soonyoung angry before, didn’t even realise he had it in him. So there he was, looking at Soonyoung, arm waving about wildly, jaw clenched tight, his eyes so alive with challenge, as Soonyoung grilled him about his punctuality in a voice slightly past the library’s unofficial volume limit.

Other people turned to stare.

“But at least I wasn’t the one who took 13 hours to respond to a message!”

“I said I was sorry, I really didn’t notice!”

“What’s the use of your phone then?!” Jihoon hissed.

“Don’t change the subject, you kept me waiting for half an hour! And you didn’t respond to any of my messages OR calls!” Soonyoung countered.

“My phone died.”

“What’s the use of your phone then.”

A myriad of things rushed through Jihoon’s mind at the statement but the only thing that processed was how much he wanted to get rid of that smug expression, so without proper consideration he reached for the closest object – his phone, by the way – and flung it.

Things after that were a blur. Soonyoung threw something back at him but he wasn’t sure what. It was kind of flat. Jihoon knew because it hit his shoulder, bounced off to drop on the floor, sound swallowed by Jihoon knocking over a chair when he surged forward. Then the librarian threw them both out.

It’s like all Jihoon could think of then was how to get out of being in the same air space as Soonyoung, not remembering there was a reason they got together in the first place (ie, the project). But he was shoving at Soonyoung when they exited, and got tripped in kind on their way down the stairs.

Someone had to be the one to draw back first, but it was really unclear who. Jihoon could only remember stomping away with red cheeks.

The next thing he remembered, he’s already seated on Chan’s beanbag, spilling profanities as he breathed.

“The nerve of that fucking bastard! I don’t care what you’ve said Chan, you’re fucking wrong, Kwon Soonyoung is a pile of dog shit.”

Chan tensed. “What happened, hyung?”

“He threw his pen at me.” His pitch raised a little at ‘pen’ because he was unsure.

“Threw his pen?” Chan echoed.

“Threw something for sure. And he tripped me down the stairs.”

“Ermmm…” Chan punctuated.

“As if any of it is my fucking fault this walking cum bag doesn’t know how to use his goddamn phone.”

Speaking of phones, Jihoon realised his was still heavy in his pocket and flat out of battery, the unfortunate reason he lost track of time to begin with. He stuck his hand into his pocket to fish it out, but then the screen lighted up and he froze.

Took in the sight of an artistic photo of a dance studio, most definitely not his wallpaper, and something sunk in Jihoon. Out of curiosity, he swiped, the lock screen disappeared, the phone unlocked. Ugly round numbers attached to almost all his apps, 148 on WhatsApp, 1 on Settings, 25 on Mail, so on.

Jihoon opened and closed his mouth, then with a loud, “Fuck!” he threw the thing in a vaguely far from him direction, getting up to march off to his bedroom, shutting out everything else for the night.

* * *

 

So here’s one of Chan’s secrets: He’s never spoken a word to Soonyoung before. 

Once he said, “oh Kwon Soonyoung? He’s a senior in my dance school!” And the rest was history.

Frankly, he found it crazy that people around him thought he was on speaking terms with the older male, because they were not, and rightfully so.

Soonyoung was the star of the dance school. During practice, he had these amazing facial expressions, his limbs so languid and graceful. Off practice, he was energetic, playful, hard not to admire.

Which was what Chan did, admire, from afar. Chan, who thought his own dancing was just kind of okay on the best of days.

But there is a first time for everything, he reasoned, his heart beating like crazy against his ribs, and he squeezed the phone tighter in his grip.

Wiping his sweat, Soonyoung exited the studio, and Chan dashed forward, scrambling to take his chance before someone claimed Soonyoung’s attention.

“E-e-excuse me!”

Soonyoung blinked at first, the towel coming to a stop, covering his shoulders. “Oh, Chan? What’s up?”

The words Chan tried to find appeared to be soaked up by the towel.

“Erm, wait, well,” He pulled the phone closer to himself. “Ah yes, this… y-your phone.”

Soonyoung’s eyes widen. “I was looking for this! Where’d you find it?”

The air was suddenly too dry. “Funny story, erm, you know Lee Jihoon?” He saw Soonyoung bite his lip. “IIIIII’m his roommate and erm, I think he took it by accident.”

“His roommate?”

“Y-yes.”

“What a coincidence.” Soonyoung huffed, then he was passing Chan an identical phone. “This must be his phone then.”

It was absurd. Chan took the new phone, it fit exactly the same in his palm, but he was supposed to bring it back from where he started. The phone lit up in his hand, familiar music note wallpaper coming into view, Chan’s jaw dropped. Satisfied, Soonyoung made to pack his bag, and Chan could see the end of the conversation drawing near so he swallowed the lump in his throat.

“Hyung’s actually not a bad person.”

There was an eyebrow quirked at him.

“Really. I mean, he can actually be really nice when you get to know him though he has some…”

Soonyoung still levelled a cold stare at him, unconvinced.

So Chan wilted. “Well a lot… of short…comings.”

Then Soonyoung honest to God, laughed, the same melodic hahahas that permeated through the halls that Chan always heard, and Chan felt the corner of his lips lift up.

“No, I didn’t mean it like that!”

“It’s okay,” Soonyoung breathed, “a small jest.”

Chan had never felt lighter, the heels of his feet suddenly under a lot less pressure. He skipped all the way back home.

* * *

 

But then he gets to the flat and his feet remember that Jihoon was a person who existed and lived under the same roof as him, and he’d just been ‘fraternising with the enemy’. Chan was wondering how many bullets a person could bite in a day before they die, face scrunched up, when a hand grabbed his shoulder and he goes two feet into the air. 

“Woah dude, the hell?”

It was just Vernon.

“You scared the heck out of me!” Chan whisper hissed.

“Why you acting like you stole something? Did you steal that phone?” Vernon pointed.

“What? No, this is Jihoon hyung’s phone.”

“Ballsy.”

“Stop, this is a complicated situation.”

Vernon looked at him, bright eyed. Chan sighed, his mouth already moving to tell the tale to his classmate.

“Okay, so say I help you bring the phone to him, do you think he’ll finally join Seungcheol hyung and I in the talent show?”

“Vernon, you guys have tried for weeks. You can’t out-stubborn Jihoon hyung.”

“Pity. I guess you’re on your own then.”

Chan grabbed for his hoodie.

“Fine, I’ll go with you but I’m not helping.”

They open the door as quietly as they could, slipping through the crack in their socked feet. It appeared that the guy was not in any of the common spaces, the only source of light being the small spills from under Jihoon’s door.

Vernon elbowed Chan. Chan knocked on the door. They were met with silence. Chan’s first instinct was to retreat but Vernon’s got other ideas, throwing the door open with force.

Jihoon was there, back facing them, headphones on. His fingers made clickety sounds across the keyboard. He was composing.

“Hyung.” Chan called, tapping the other on the shoulder.

With his face still locked in concentration, Jihoon turned to face him, the muscles slowly relaxing on recognition.

“I found your phone!”

At that Jihoon perked up a bit, but he’s good at putting two and two together, and he’s scowling the next second.

“I bet that bastard had it.”

“Well…” Chan wasn’t able to affirm or deny. Which was enough affirmation on its own.

Jihoon pulled out a bottle of hand sanitiser, setting to work immediately.

“Hyung?”

The guy doesn’t really answer, just tilting his head a little in acknowledgement. Now, he started clearing his notifications by launching every single application with that ugly red circle stuck on it. He couldn’t help noticing the 97% in the top right corner, his battery.

“Hyung, I really think you should give Soonyoung hyung another chance.”

Jihoon twitched, Chan feared for his neck.

“What Chan means is, you two got off on a very bad start but it’s probably not that bad. All miscommunication.” Vernon stepped up helpfully. Thank the dude and his lack of self-preservation.

“Besides, the project will be over in three weeks.” Chan whispered to Vernon.

“The project will only be for so long, and then you never have to talk to him again.”

With a heavy sigh, Jihoon threw his head back and waved his hand, which in Jihoon language, meant concession. Chan let go of the breath he hadn’t known he’d been holding.

“By the way,” oh no, “won’t you rap with us during the talent show, Cold Artist?”

This time, Chan ran out before he could even see any movement, seeking refuge in his room.

* * *

 

The mention of the project does sort of sober up Jihoon a little. These were still his grades at stake, and both he and Soonyoung were going to be a bit responsible for that. 

There were still unread messages on his WhatsApp.

 

**From: Kwon Soonyoung**

hp u gt ur fone bk

im sry abt tking lng t rply

n tripin u

n i frgiv u fr bing lte

 

**From: Lee Jihoon**

Your spelling is garbage.

 

**From: Kwon Soonyoung**

r00d

tis s my aesthetic T^T

 

**From: Lee Jihoon**

The only word you spelt right is ‘aesthetic’!

 

**From: Kwon Soonyoung**

n my pls

hold on, we cool?

 

**From: Lee Jihoon**

Fine. Cool enough.

Where should we meet next, by the way? I think we’re temporarily suspended from the library.

 

**From: Kwon Soonyoung**

cnt bliev u spelt out btw btw

canteen?

 

**From: Lee Jihoon**

Too noisy.

 

**From: Kwon Soonyoung**

study area?

 

**From: Lee Jihoon**

Too hot.

 

**From: Kwon Soonyoung**

im convinced im tlking 2 a chatbot

n ive run out of ideas

like whr else do stdnts usally study??

@ home?

ohhhhhhh ;];];]

 

**From: Lee Jihoon**

No.

Don’t.

 

**From: Kwon Soonyoung**

bt thn itll be bth noisy n hot ~

 

**From: Lee Jihoon**

Let’s just do it at the study area.

 

**From: Kwon Soonyoung**

omo /// hw daring

 

**From: Lee Jihoon**

No!

 

**From: Kwon Soonyoung**

;D

 

With all the strength he could muster, Jihoon slammed the phone onto the bed, except that the plush absorbed shock and it didn’t really do anything, a useless endeavour. He dug his face into the covers.

* * *

 

The next time they meet, it is at the study area and the sky is grey and rumbling. Jihoon had his phone with him, fully charged. Little drops of rain bounce off the concrete to land plitter platter on the right side of Jihoon. Slight enough that it cannot bother him. 

Most of the other students have migrated at the first drops, scrambling for a more well-sheltered place. But sometimes Soonyoung stopped biting his tongue to speak up, and sometimes Jihoon stopped furrowing his brow to mention something, they’d just decided on a topic and were individually scouring the net for information, and it was distracting enough.

Then Jihoon ran a hand through his hair and was dismayed to find that it’d been slightly dampened by the atmospheric moisture.

Several minutes later, Soonyoung announced that he was going to get himself refreshments.

“You want anything?”

“You’re going to run in the rain to get soda?”

“Yes that is my intention. Do you want any or not?”

“Batshit.” He muttered. “Fine, I’ll have whatever you’re having.”

“Roger~”

And Soonyoung really took off, his hair going from minutely fluffy to completely flat in a manner of seconds, getting further and further away. Jihoon rolled his eyes, going back to his work. For a bit, he was seized with the urge to check his bag, just to make sure nothing’s gotten wet from the rain.

In a while, Soonyoung ran up to him, panting and drenched. “Here you go.” He passed him a can of Coke.

Jihoon hadn’t used his vocal chords for a while and found that they had fallen asleep on him, so he had to start it with a cough. “I’m more of a Pepsi person.”

Soonyoung put a hand across his heart. “And here I thought we could actually be friends.”

But Jihoon giggled at that, then he tossed him his jacket. “Don’t catch a cold dumbass, we still have an assignment to complete.”

* * *

 

When Soonyoung met Seungcheol for the first time, he was unprepared to be on the receiving end of such intense, unabashed glaring. 

By his side, Jihoon didn’t really look that fazed, so he held his tongue and tried to shrink further into the seat.

“Like Ji, listen to this, so those fuckwits were at it again, right? Causing trouble down on Uncle’s land, so I dusted my hands off and threw them out of the window.”

“Because of that chain down the street again?” Jihoon said, a little concerned. “Wouldn’t it be better if he got them exterminated? Once and for all.”

Soonyoung gulped.

“Well it’s expensive. And for the time being I can still take care of it.” He cracked his fingers, twice on each finger, once at the base and once at the midway point. “Business has been a bit slow with the lady boss stuck in the hospital.”

“I’ll try to come down when I can.”

“It’s okay, you don’t have to trouble yourself, we have plenty of capable people already.”

Jihoon hummed, he looked over at Soonyoung then. “Come to think of it, where do you stay?”

“Me? You want to know where I stay?”

Seungcheol smirked.

“As in my address? The place that can be called my home because it’s where I go when the day is done and I’m ready to sleep and refresh?”

“Yes?” Jihoon felt one eyebrow dip.

“W-Why?”

Jihoon shrugged. “Figured I’d bring you to Uncle’s shop one day but if you don’t want to go…” He shrugged again, cheeks filling with air.

Seungcheol put a hand on his neck, smile not reaching his eyes. “You’ll miss out.”

Soonyoung supposed he must have said yes, because then Jihoon was glowing.

* * *

 

At the same time, he sprinted straight for the Business blocks when he managed to leave, although it was a mystery how he managed to get past Seungcheol. 

“Jun!” He called, bursting into a classroom. “Jun! Jun! Jun-iper Ascending!”

“Don’t call me that, oh my god.” Junhui groaned back loudly. Soonyoung made a beeline for the voice, nearly tripping over his own feet.

“Hyung, you okay?” This was from Mingyu, who sat beside Junhui.

“Eh, Jun, tell me about mafia activity in the Anguk-dong area.”

Junhui shook his head. “Soonyoung, for the last time, I am not a member of the Chinese triad.”

“But do you feel confident potentially taking them on?”

“What did you do?” Mingyu butted in.

“I think my project mate is involved in the shady.”

Mingyu made to stand up, but Junhui had his hand on the other’s shoulder and pushed him back into his seat.

“Soonyoung, what did we tell you about stealing Seungkwan’s dramas to watch at 3am?”

Soounyoung recoiled. “This is unfair. A) I did no such thing, and b) I swear it’s not the case this time.”

“A) we have incriminating evidence.” Mingyu raised his brow. “I could call Wonwoo hyung right now.”

So Soonyoung looked down. “It was only 2:30…” He protested. “But I am serious! I feel like my project mate is going to introduce me to some bad people! He said he’d take me to a place where punks frequent, and the lady boss is in the hospital! And his friend throws people out of windows!”

Junhui and Mingyu shared a look.

“I still think you’re exaggerating but listen, we can go with you in secret if you wan-“

Junhui never got to finish the sentence because then he felt Soonyoung’s arms around him, his mouth slamming into the guy’s shoulder, and he couldn’t feel angry.

But he sure as hell could feel bored out of his wits, because truthfully, sitting around on a bench was a terrible way to spend a Saturday.

And for all their chastising of Soonyoung’s drama watching habits, it was honestly kind of amazing that this was their best plan of action. Waiting on the bench nearby, spying, and if Soonyoung gave a signal – a thumbs up but parallel to the floor – then Wonwoo would go in to take him out.

Wonwoo because Junhui and Mingyu realised that Seungcheol from Economics was going to be there, and as fellow Business blockers, they weren’t going to engage.

“Wonuuuuuu,” Mingyu whined, “I’m bored.”

“What time did the man go to the dentist?”

Instant regret, an expression by Kim Mingyu.

“Tooth hurt-y.”

Junhui reached over Mingyu to pull his ear.

* * *

 

Soonyoung stood beside Jihoon on the train, glancing occasionally at the other carriage. He knew his friends were there but he had yet to actually see them, which was either them doing a splendid job or they abandoned him, how vastly differing. 

He noted Jihoon was wearing his pink hoodie again, it seemed to be a favourite. Well, it was a nice pastel colour, and when the train jerked, Soonyoung learnt that it was also very soft in material.

“Why are you so nervous?”

“What makes you say that?” He laughed, shaky.

Jihoon was going to say something, his mouth already a little open, but then there was a jingle in the air, melodic and without warning.

_wiroun saramdeure maeumeul yeorojulgeoya_

It was a familiar tune, Soonyoung pondered, biting his cheek in thought.

He half-watched Jihoon’s eyes grow as wide as saucers, hand scrambling frantically for his bag. His fingers tripped at the zip.

_memareun gaseumsoge jeoksyeojul mellodi_

An anime! Yeah it was definitely from an anime!

Jihoon was sputtering, he had his phone out now, but the thing looked like a fish that’d just been caught, wriggling to free itself from his palms.

_seulpeume gieokdeure gippeumeul_

He tapped with extreme force against his screen and the sound stopped. Head hung low, hidden from sight, eyes glued downwards.

“chaewojulgeoya!” Soonyoung chirped, brows unfurrowing. “Ah I knew I recognised that song!”

Jihoon struggled to form thoughts.

“Wait, you watched that show?” Soonyoung asked. “Damn, I never thought I’d meet anyone else who…”

He stopped, words dying on his tongue, because Jihoon was looking at him, face as pink as his hoodie, a wetness to his eyes, and the overly white light from the train ceiling reflecting off his hair.

He noticed Jihoon’s Adam’s apple bob, probably the first movement between them since time stopped. The first sound when the train pulled up at the next station. A woman’s clear voice.

Then the door was opening and Jihoon took off.

Soonyoung followed the movement, overcome by a great urgency.

“Jihoon!” Fingers stretched, he caught the other’s wrist through the sleeve of the hoodie. “Jihoon, wait!”

But Jihoon doesn’t say anything. Just stood there, frozen mid-step, not going forward, not going back.

“-------“

And Jihoon must have regained his senses from the shock of being tugged backwards.

“Hands off me, dickface!”

Soonyoung’s grip was tight.

“Why? You don’t realise how rare it is to find people who appreciate true art.”

“What the hell are you saying?” Yet Jihoon slackened. The buzz among them died. “We’re going to be late.”

“Yup.”

Hand in hand, they stood at the platform. The next train will come in seven minutes. Jihoon never stopped looking at the floor, Soonyoung never stopped looking at the sky.

* * *

 

“It’s either the floor breaks first, or the limit of my patience.” Jeonghan snapped. 

Seungcheol turned but kept his back plastered against the pillar, foot tapping rhythmically on the concrete.

“He’s late. You think it’s because of that Soonyoung fella?”

“Cheol, I love you, but you need to calm down.”

Seungcheol pointed at the thirteen cups of tea haphazardly placed on the table.

“Can you blame me?! This is Jihoon we’re talking about. I can’t remember the last time he’s brought a friend over.” Jeonghan had to wipe invisible tears from his eyes.

“I heard they threw their phones at each other.”

“They’ll be married before they turn 30.”

“Ji called him ‘a pile of dog shit’.”

“And I’m sure you’ll fondly mention that when you’re giving your speech as Best Man. Look, Chan said Soonyoung is a great person and I trust him.”

There was no winning that. Jeonghan went back to his tea bags, leaving Seungcheol to sulk without audience, at least, until he saw the little figure of his friend coming from the end of the street. Along with someone taller, their hands unnaturally close in the spacious path, and Jihoon was laughing.

Seungcheol ran up to them, slinging his arm around Jihoon’s shoulder. “What kept you, man? Uncle’s going to be pissed.” He directed that one at Soonyoung.

“Cheol! You won’t believe this idiot. He thought I was bringing him to a gang.”

“Wow how did he get that idea?” Seungcheol went, face blank.

Soonyoung inhaled. “You-“

At that moment, Jeonghan poked his head over and within seconds, he was gesturing for everyone to sit at the table he’d prepared in advance.

Sitting there, Soonyoung found it a lot easier to make sense of all the information Jihoon presented a few minutes before this moment.

Uncle referred to the man who ran the tteokbokki restaurant, which he was currently in, and was the actual uncle of a person named Yoon Jeonghan, who Soonyoung could see was excitedly lining a tray with appetisers.

Yoon Jeonghan was a childhood friend of Jihoon’s, along with Seungcheol, the reason for the misunderstanding, and they’ve all been helping out at the shop from time to time.

“And the ‘fuckwits’ your friend threw out the window?”

“Rats actually. But it’s not Uncle’s! There’s this budget burger chain that started shop nearby recently and they’ve been leaving their trash irresponsibly. I swear we’re clean.”

“Why did you guys have to be so misleading!”

Jihoon erupted into laughter, head thrown back and clapping.

Jeonghan brought them some food then, way too many servings for the small party of four.

“Thanks, it looks delicious.” Soonyoung commented.

“Such good manners,” Jeonghan cooed, “what a fine young man.”

Jihoon stabbed a slice of potato with his chopstick. “We’ll eat well!”

Seungcheol stood up to pull at Jeonghan’s hair, “the tteokbokki isn’t going to serve itself.”

And the older male was leaving with a huff. Though he did come back almost as quickly, with piping hot rice cakes in his hands. He set it down with practiced grace. Soonyoung noted that it was coloured very red.

“This is the store’s hottest item, our speciality, eat up, eat up!”

Jeonghan was smiling. Seungcheol’s already scarfed down three bites, making his way for more.

Soonyoung swallowed, he saw Jihoon tilt his head at him so he popped one piece of scarlet rice cake into his mouth.

Which was a disaster waiting to happen, even a blind man could see. He chewed once, maybe twice, and then he was flailing about, sucking air through gritted teeth, hand fanning his face.

The other three looked at each other.

“It’s got a kick ain’t it?” Jeonghan said first, laughter bubbling.

“He really is an idiot.” Even Seungcheol was finding it impossible not to snort.

“Are you okay?”

Jihoon didn’t remember his voice ever being that low.

“Babe?”

Ah, it was not his voice.

And suddenly there was this strange guy dressed in black, arms wrapped around Soonyoung’s waist, chin on his hair.

“What?” Jeonghan and Seungcheol said in unison, eyes wide.

“What?” Jihoon said, eyes narrowed.

“Oh.” Soonyoung went.

The air hung stale for seconds and seconds, until the new guy straightened, brought his arms to lock around Soonyoung’s neck instead.

“Gotcha!” He cheered. “You should have seen the look on all your faces, truly.”

A hand playfully ruffling Soonyoung’s hair, the other squeezing a bit too tight around the neck.

There was a collective exhale.

“Ya-ya-ya Jeon Wonwoo!” Soonyoung screamed. Wonwoo let go. “What are you doing here?” There was a lot of force behind his words, his teeth touching.

“Well I was shopping around the area,” he jabbed at the general outside direction fiercely with his thumb, “and guess what I see hmmmmm?”

“Okay it’s nice to see you, yes, really. Didn’t you say you had a lot of work to finish this weekend?”

“Is this how you treat your…” Here, he took a sweeping look at the faces around them, two confused, one seething, and he knew what he had to do. “…boyfriend?”

He smirked.

* * *

 

“Don’t you think Wonwoo hyung is taking really long? What if something’s happened to them?” 

“It’s Wonwoo, it should be fine.”

“No, I’m going to take a look. If I’m not back in five minutes, you know what to do.”

* * *

 

Soonyoung was sputtering nonsense, pupils shaking, as nervous laughter poured out of from his chest. 

“No, what, we’re not darrgh-“

Wonwoo squished his cheeks.

“Aigoo, were you eating spicy food again, babe? You know you can’t handle the heat.”

Next, he picked up a piece of tissue from the table, one hand delicately on Soonyoung’s shoulder, as he roughly shoved the Kleenex into the guy’s face, wiping away sounds of his protests as well.

“Much better.”

Soonyoung kicked his shin under the table, and his position shifted such that he was no longer completely facing the other. Then something slipped into place around his arm, the one not still on Soonyoung’s shoulder, and rested heavily there.

“Darling~”

Five pairs of eyes flew over, and Mingyu lost sight of what he was there to do.

“Wait, you’re dating both of them?” Jeonghan asked, fingers pointing.

At that moment, Mingyu found 8pm primetime television instead. “Who is he?!” He shriek-demanded.

“My boyfriend.” Wonwoo replied calmly.

“Then who am I?”

“You are also my boyfriend.”

“What is this?” Jeonghan asked, disbelieving.

“Polyamory.”  
“Cheating.”

They said together.

“Wait a minute here,” Soonyoung spoke up.

“You shut up!” Mingyu snapped. “How could you, Wonwoo? Cheat on me with that squinty-eyed noodle! Can he even see you?!”

Jeonghan actually snickered.

“Mingyu please, not here okay baby.”

But Mingyu was a professional. “Oh am I baby now? I can’t believe this.”

“Min-“

“YOU HAD ME AT HELLO!” He screamed in English.

“Look guys, this is really-“ Soonyoung stood up.

Wonwoo pushed him back into his seat, “ssh babe I got this.”

“I think you guys need a mediator.” Jeonghan piped in. “And I’ll gladly offer my services!”

“Why?” Jihoon questioned.

“It’s okay I’m a student of law.” Jeonghan held him down by the shoulders. “Can I get a statement from the defendant?”

Wonwoo shrugged. “Well, I have never lied about how much I love him. I swear.”

“And what do you have to say to that, plaintiff?”

“What about me?!” Soonyoung pleaded.

“Be quiet for a sec, you’ll get your turn.” Jeonghan waved his hand. “Plaintiff.”

Mingyu nodded. “I just have to say that I am insulted and ashamed, I mean I have been nothing but faithful!”

Which was why it was time for, “bao~bei~ (precious)” to join the fray, another guy coming to lean on Mingyu from behind.

Evidently, Junhui did not know what to do.

“This is getting messy so please introduce yourself first.” Jeonghan presided, not even batting an eyelash.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Wen Junhui. I don’t speak Korean.” He said, in perfect Korean.

“And whose boyfriend are you?” Jeonghan continued.

Junhui pointed to Mingyu.

“Does the defendant have anything new to add in light of recent events?”

“Well see, I fully understand because the heart of man was never meant to love only one person.”

Jeonghan made a contemplative nod. “And the plaintiff?”

Mingyu looked upwards, blinking rapidly. “I have a confession.” He turned to Junhui. “I never loved you, I’m sorry for leading you on but my true love has always been,” he reached out for Wonwoo’s hand.

Junhui gasped, Wonwoo clasped back. “And I have one too. I talked about polyamory but my heart was always taken by only one. It’s you, Kwon Soonyoung.”

He spun around, pulling away from Mingyu, to put one knee on the floor, extending a palm towards the shell shocked Soonyoung.

“I have something to say too,” Junhui started, now fully grasping the role, “I too never loved you, Mingyu, I just thought I’d never have a chance. The one I truly love is Soonyoungie.”

He sidestepped Mingyu, patting him on the arm along the way, to join Wonwoo on the floor, crouching in the same manner.

“Guys, for real this is getting out of hand.” Soonyoung whispered harshly.

“Hyung! I must double confess! I, three, only have one love. I knew all along that Wonwoo hyung was dating you, that’s the only reason I let him date me, and I was going to be happy as long as you knew my existence, even if it’s only as the vixen that stole your love away.”

Any longer and he might actually shed tears, he slowly joined the others on the ground. “Hyung, I may be the youngest here but I’ve loved you longer than any of them.”

“And contender number 3 has joined the field!” Jeonghan hooted. “Now, Soonyoung must make his choice between three dashing young men. Will it be the reliable dongsaeng type, the charm of a foreign man, or the mysterious bad boy who only has eyes for you?

Who will it be, who will it be? Please make your decision.”

Soonyoung’s hand hovered subconsciously.

But then, it was being grabbed by someone else’s, someone smaller, Lee Jihoon, who tugged and dragged and Soonyoung nearly fell out of his seat trying to match the pace, feet stumbling, back bent, as the two got further and further away.

The first to get up was Mingyu, laughing hard and slapping his thighs. “I don’t even know what’s going on.” He wheezed.

“That was a mess.” Wonwoo commented. Junhui was dusting his knee.

“It sure was.” Jeonghan echoed. He looked at all of them. “I’m Yoon Jeonghan, by the way. Why don’t you guys come have a bite, there’s plenty to go around.”

Except there wasn’t because Seungcheol had been munching away throughout the debacle.

Jeonghan moved to smack him loudly on the back.

“Yes, by the way, Wonwoo was it? You have a low voice have you ever considered rapping?” Seungcheol said, lips red from the spice.

* * *

 

Come Thursday, Chan walked into the dance studio, and in the corner were three people he hadn’t been expecting, though it was mainly Soonyoung. 

Who just then happened to turn and look. “Oh Chan! Come join us!” He patted a space on the floor.

“Eh are you sure?” Chan asked, already half way over.

“Sure.” Soonyoung beamed. “Here, I’ll introduce you, this is my friend, Minghao. Chinese. He B-boys.”

Minghao smiled at him.

Soonyoung continued, “Minghao, this is Chan, a junior.”

At this Chan blinked confusedly at the other guy in the circle that was blatantly being left out.

“If you’re wondering, this guy is Junhui,” Minghao said, noticing his gaze, “he’s from China, like me.”

“Hello,” Junhui greeted. “I’m high school friends with petty _Soonyoungie_ over there.”

“Minghao, tell that person he’s not allowed to use nicknames on non-friends.”

Minghao rolled his eyes super hard. “na ge wang ba dan shuo (that son of a bitch says)” he prefixed, “no nicknames for no friends.”

“After all my hard work in acting.” Junhui pouted. “Oh, what a fate, is this what they call good heart no good returns?” He grabbed at his chest all melodramatic.

“Good riddance.”

“Even though your knight in shining armour came and whisked you away all romantic.” Junhui said. “It’s a happy ending!”

But Soonyoung huffed, turning away, “so Chan, are you currently attending university too?”

Every time Chan answered a question, they told him more about themselves too, and a new question would be asked. Now he knew things like: Minghao, cute accent, B-boy, Building Management, likes hairstyling videos. Or: Junhui, can play piano, can dance, can do martial arts, Markerting, was involved in something last Saturday that got Soonyoung really pouty.

And then once, although he can’t remember how the conversation drifted to those waters at all, he said, “it’s tiring. Seungcheol hyung keeps bugging me to convince Jihoon hyung to join the talent show.”

It occurred to him after a beat. “Ahhh, Seungcheol hyung is this senior of mine…”

“I’ve met him, believe it or not.” Soonyoung grimaced.

“Wait, did you say Jihoon?” Junhui lit up.

“Yes?”

“Lee Jihoon?”

“Yes.”

“Like this tall.” He put out his hand to indicate.

Chan had to hold back his tongue, he nodded anyway.

Then Junhui was poking Minghao’s arm in the most conspicuous way. “That’s the guy!”

Soonyoung elbowed him in the ribs.

“Does he not want to join the show?” Minghao asked, the only person still on track.

“Seems that way? Personally I think it’s just that he doesn’t want to rap with Seungcheol hyung but don’t tell him I said that.”

“You know what that calls for? Junhui said, mischievous, revving up that marketing skills engine he’s got. “Someone persuasive.”

That was sensible, if not obvious.

“So I nominate only the best of the best speaker amongst us, and naturally that’s,” he gestured, “Soonyoung.”

Soonyoung completely deflated.

“I, how do you say, wholeheartedly concur.” Minghao added. “His Korean is the bee’s knees.”

“Will you really?” Chan turned to him, eyes wide and shining, hands clasped together.

With an extreme sense of déjà vu, Soonyoung supposed he must have said yes.

* * *

 

And once again, he was off, heading towards the auditorium this time. He popped into one of the AV rooms and tackled the guy inside. 

“Lee Seokmin, you are my only friend now.” He whined. “I have been betrayed by all the others.”

He felt a stack of papers hit his head. That was Seungkwan standing just to the right.

“See what I mean?”

Seokmin laughed. “Good afternoon, hyung!” He set aside down the bunch of flowers he’d been holding.

“Oh, shit, were you two busy?”

Seungkwan scoffed then, “what is it you want, hyung?”

“Aunt A-Boo-ny, I have been pressured into helping my friends with something that I have no idea how to accomplish. Please help, signed, One Friend Left.”

Seungkwan smacked him again. “At least give us some details.”

So Soonyoung did.

“Why don’t you just talk to him, be straightforward.” Seokmin suggested.

Soonyoung paled at the idea. “I haven’t really been talking to him for awhile.”

“Even though you’re project mates?”

“We’ve only texted since Saturday. It’s awkward.”

But Seokmin was a firm believer of direct communication solves problems, which is why he borrowed Soonyoung’s phone for a short moment, sneakily sending out a text on his behalf.

* * *

 

Jihoon didn’t really listen to the campus radio station often. Mostly it was because he was already busy listening to something else, not enough space in his ears.

But today’s different. He got a mysterious request to tune in, specifically to the 5:30pm slot, which was a little oddly specific. He vaguely knew about that particular show, run by this duo who went by ‘BooSeok’. 

It’s a bit unclear what they do. Sometimes there were music recommendations, but mostly they interacted with listeners, giving advice or telling jokes. Jihoon shrugged, tuning in anyway, what was the worse that could happen? Sticks and stones break bones but words could never hurt anybody.

The duo introduced themselves with tons of enthusiastic cheer right off the bat. Then they were singing, it was more as a gag than seriously but Jihoon noted that they had good voices anyway.

Somewhere along, Seungkwan started the advice corner, the two of them gather listener’s problems and dispense generic advice about the matter, but it was still entertaining whenever Seungkwan told one of his own stories in response or when Seokmin made a lame joke.

“So you just have to be brave and talk to the person you love! If it doesn’t work out just fall in love with another.” Came Seungkwan’s voice.

“Ah speaking of talking, I have a special message today!” Seokmin chirped.

“Oh, what’s this? A love letter? Love transmission?”

“Well. I don’t know if this person is listening right now but,” Seokmin was saying, “to Lee Jihoon-ssi of the music department, this is a message from me on behalf of a good friend of mine:”

“How sweet.” A soft interruption.

“Please rap in the talent show.”

Jihoon ripped the headphones off his ears, and reached for his phone within the next nanosecond.

 

**To: Kwon Soonyoung**  

What the fuuuuuuuck?!

 

**From: Kwon Soonyoung**  

!!! ???

 

**To: Kwon Soonyoung**

Why did the DJ just ask me to rap in the talent show on your behalf?

 

**From: Kwon Soonyoung**

…  
gd qn hld on

 

Soonyoung scrolled up a bit. The last message before Jihoon started texting him went like this:

_Pls tune in to 5:30 campus radio today. Present for you <33_

 

**From: Kwon Soonyoung**

ok look i ddnt send tht

 

**From: Lee Jihoon**

Honestly I figured? The typing was just… dead giveaway.

But why did this happen?

 

**From: Kwon Soonyoung**

i hve bn betrayed agn

er look seungc ws stressin chan so then i gt stressed n went 2 stress @ my frien

i mst stress tht a lt of stress ws invlved

bt i wd hv stopped him if i knew im srry

do u rlly hate the show so much?

 

**To: Kwon Soonyoung**

Not hate it… per say

But who would want it anyway?

((Type, backspace, gulp, type, backspace))

A student from the music department taking part in the talent show as if they happened to stumble across the flyer and figured they had nothing better to do that day, you know what I mean.

 

Jihoon bit his lip.

 

**From: Kwon Soonyoung**  

me

id still like 2 c u on stage tho

bet ull be gr8

like seungc wld go thru so much 2 gt u there

 

**From: Lee Jihoon**

Fix your goddamn spelling please.

 

**From: Kwon Soonyoung**

n

e

v

r

* * *

 

Joshua, heard the information, processed it a little, and then choked on his water. “Are you being serious?” 

From behind the glass, Jihoon sat comfortably on a roller chair. He gave him a solid nod.

“Wow, I… I want to see Cheol’s face when you tell him.”

“That didn’t answer my question though.”

“Of course I’ll do it!” Joshua exclaimed, heels bouncing. He set down his guitar gently, scratched some marks on his sheets with a pencil. “Why the sudden change of heart?”

Jihoon shrugged at him, flicking around with some buttons on the mixer.

Joshua probably understood that that was the most he was going to get in that regard so instead he goes, “how’s your finals going?”

It was supposed to be an easy question. However, Jihoon scowled. “I made a few samples but I don’t know which one I’ll eventually submit.”

Of course Joshua hummed in agreement first, setting up. Then he added, “I really like that one with the maze-like world.”

The phrase seemed to turn the mixer into lava, Jihoon suddenly flinching away from it. “Oh that one?”

“Yeah, the words are pretty, you must have had a good inspiration.” And because he thought Jihoon would combust, he was kind enough to change the topic. “How are your other modules going though? Like GenEd.”

Jihoon opened and closed his mouth. Suddenly Joshua couldn’t see his head anymore. “It’s fine.”

“I see.” Joshua remarked. He flipped through his papers with light fingers, trying to bite back his smile.

* * *

 

Put up all ten fingers. Never have I ever… seen Seungcheol squawk. 

Jihoon would put a finger down, trying really hard not to laugh, til his chest hurt from the strain.

“Let me get this straight.” Seungcheol put up his hand. “You are going to take part in the talent show.”

“Accurate.” Jihoon’s head dipped heavily.

“But you’re entering with other people.”

“I’m not rapping at all if that makes you feel better.”

Seungcheol did not feel that much better. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “How? After I tried everything for weeks.”

Jihoon threw him a blank stare. “Finally felt like it.”

Seungcheol drew a deep breath. “Alright, so who are you going with?”

When Jihoon mentioned Joshua, Seungcheol grabbed the edge of the table. Then he said, “Jeonghan” and the table very nearly flipped over. Jihoon let go of that laugh, stewing for so long, and it spilled over long and dense.

“This is war, Lee Jihoon, we will crush your team, whoever it is.”

“By ‘we’ you mean, you and Vernon?” There was some mockery in that tone.

Seungcheol smirked. “Haven’t you heard? We have two more now. You know them actually Wonwoo and Mingyu, you remember.”

He couldn’t help pulling a face. This time Seungcheol laughed at his expense.

Oh, this will be war alright.

* * *

 

That night the weather was pleasant, and he’d made great progress with one of the songs he was working on so Jihoon decided to make an extra portion of instant noodles, for Chan. 

The younger brightened when he saw the food, the two of them facing one another at the table. Someone mentioned it’s been awhile since they last did this. Someone took out more ketchup. Jihoon’s lips curled even as bit the chopsticks.

“Oh yeah,” Chan started, wiping sauce from his lips. “I heard you decided to join the talent show.”

Jihoon could only grunt, heading off to put the dishes in the sink.

“I’ll say it now, but I won’t let you win easily just because you’re older than me.” Chan declared, chest puffed.

The guy spun around to blink at him. “Oh, you were entering?”

Chan scratched his cheek. “It only happened today, actually. Soonyoung hyung just said, hey we should participate too don’t you think? And I thought he was referring to just Jun hyung and Hao hyung because, why me? But it me?! I was surprised, like what if I screw up. Oh no, I’m going to screw up, aren’t I? What do I do?”

Jihoon smacked him with the towel he’d been using. “You’ll be fine you’re a talented kid.”

Then he saw it in slow motion, Chan shooting light from his eyes, arms extended, his whole body getting closer. And Jihoon was suddenly trapped, held in place by the arms around his shoulders. It irked him a little that the other guy was tall enough that he could comfortably lean his head onto his shoulder, but he reached up to stroke his hair anyway.

“By the way, you said S-Soonyoung is participating too?”

Chan tried to peel himself off to remove the pressure against his throat, but the other’s hand kept him against the shoulder by force. “Yeah.” He croaked.

“I see.”

Chan wished he could see the other’s face then.

* * *

 

Chan basically flew into the dance studio early the next morning, his shoes squeaked when he stopped in front of Junhui and Minghao. Usually he’d greet them first, bow maybe, but there was something urgent that’s been sitting at the tip of his tongue since he got out of bed that morning. 

“Guys! I think Jihoon hyung likes Soonyoung hyung.”

Junhui seemed to glow from the inside. “I knew it! Saw it on his face that Saturday. They’re so cute, crushing on each other.”

But then Minghao let out a sigh instead. “And also impossibly stupid. I’ll bet Soonyoung hyung still hasn’t talked to him despite that bullshit excuse we gave him.”

At that Junhui seemed to falter a little. On the other hand, Chan was feeling increasingly invested in their relationship the longer the fact that they like each other got to sink and settle in his mind.

“Mornin’! You guys are early.” Soonyoung announced his presence cheerily, big smile and light steps.

Chan squeaked. Junhui and Minghao greeted him back smoothly, nonchalant. After a bit of fumbling, Chan got himself together, and the four of them started with their warm up.

They do their stretches, and then a bit of their usual routines, even individual practices, and then Soonyoung’s rounding them around to discuss their upcoming performance.

Chan never pegged himself as an opportunist but he instantly opened his mouth. “What song are we going to dance to hyung?”

“I have a few tracks in mind that I think would be nice but we have to discuss what kind of performance we want to do as a team before we decide.”

“But I think we all have different styles, right?” He shot purposeful looks at China line. “Don’t you think it’d be nice to showcase all of that? Like mix and match kind of style.” Chan suggested, batting his eyelashes, all smiles.

“Seconded.” Junhui raised his hand. “That sounds like fun too.”

“That could be tricky…” Soonyoung pondered.

“It’s our ambition.” Minghao responded with gusto.

“We’ll probably need a remix instead then, to fit all the styles, can anyone do that?”

“Hyung, don’t you know anyone who does music?” Chan insinuated and insinuated.

One person came to mind. “Oh, but you’re his roommate, wouldn’t it be easier for you to ask?”

Chan waved his arms frantically. “No way, he’s older and scary. Please! And Hyung is our team’s persuasion, aren’t you?”

Junhui put his arm on Chan’s shoulder, stared straight at Soonyoung. “I agree, you’re leader anyway, since you suggested we participate. Take responsibility.”

“Besides your Korean is, how do you say, nonpareil.” Minghao finished.

* * *

 

**From: Kwon Soonyoung**  

hey

gened meeting @ sme s lst tme?

 

**From: Lee Jihoon**  

Okay.

* * *

 

He was five steps out of the house, shoes not fully fastened on his feet, cursing at the idea of getting up punctually. 

Once, the world was black and empty, save for the little trails of song that flittered in and out sporadically. Things were in a state of peace. Next thing he knew, he was looking at Chan’s face hanging above his.

The boy had a crease in his forehead. “Hyung weren’t you going to meet Soonyoung hyung today?”

Jihoon looked at the clock. A shock goes through him, adrenaline kicking in, and he’s kicking off his covers the next instant, buzzing around the apartment.

“Shit,” he yelled when he realised he grabbed the wrong towel. “Fuck,” when he put soap in his hair.

“Do you want me to text him for you?” Chan called out, perfectly calm as he stirred the instant coffee.

“Motherfucker!”

“Understood~” He proceeded to grab Jihoon’s phone anyway.

 

**From: Lee Jihoon**

Sorry I’m going to be late

Don’t get mad

 

**From: Kwon Soonyoung**

jihoon?

 

**From: Lee Jihoon**

What

 

**From: Kwon Soonyoung**

r u sure ur ook? lk r u sick?

 

**From: Lee Jihoon**

I’m ok really

 

**From: Kwon Soonyoung**

…ur nt jihoon

 

Click, went the bathroom door.

Chan slid the phone back onto the table in a flash, went back to his coffee while watching Jihoon haphazardly stuff things into his backpack.

“Don’t forget your phone.” He called.

“Thanks Chan, I’ll be leaving now.”

“Have a good day, hyung!”

Jihoon only brought out his phone when he safely got on the bus stop. On the lock screen were a bunch of notifications, most from Soonyoung, the contents were just his name with variations in spelling and capitalisation.

Suddenly, the virtue of tardiness struck him and he decided to dash a few metres ahead, to the taxi stand.

 

**From: Lee Jihoon**

I’m on my way. Will be there soon.

 

He held the phone tighter.

 

**From: Lee Jihoon**

Sorry.

* * *

 

When he ran to the study area, as expected Soonyoung was already there, his laptop out, an intense look to him. 

Soonyoung noticed him, and without warning, hit the space key really hard. A trumpet’s sound came on, a fanfare.

“Thank you for showing, Your Royal Majesty.”

A number of surrounding students stifle their laughs behind their hands.

“Don’t be a little shit.” Jihoon whacked his arm. “Sorry for being late, here as apology.” He held out a can of Coke.

Soonyoung made grabby hands. “You’re forgiven.”

Jihoon probably smiled at that, he was fairly sure, but everything was hard to tell because the moment was a blur, too many things in his mind at once. There was the thought of how it’d been a while since he last heard this voice speaking to him verbally. He recalled the image of the same guy in the same place but in slightly darker clothes that clung to his skin. And somewhere too, he listened to every word the other was saying, “what about having the causes slide afterwards instead? Will that kill the flow?” thought through them, and answered, “maybe if we change the introduction too, so it doesn’t open this way.”

Sometimes Soonyoung came over to his side to point out something he was talking about. Sometimes he did so anyway, to show the other a dank meme, and Jihoon would smack him.

Jihoon noticed that his lips quirked a bit more to the left than right when he laughed, and if the orange of the evening sun shone exactly right, his eyes lit up a wonderful hazel.

There was a nice breeze coming in, and the sound of people all around them, and Soonyoung’s hand found Jihoon’s somewhere along the line.

* * *

 

Vernon sat in between Seungkwan and Chan, the three of them sharing two large bowls of shaved ice. It was something of a ritual by now, ever since the trio got to know each other in middle school, classmates turned friends, they came to this very shop every Saturday night, come hell or high water, or exams but ssh. 

“You know, it seems like the world is incredibly small.” Seungkwan commented, taking another scoop.

“You can say that again.” Chan echoed, nodding his head.

“I mean, I’ve known you for how long?” He jabbed the spoon in Vernon’s direction. “And I’ve known Seungcheol since I was born! Yet I never knew you two knew each other.”

Vernon had just popped more ice into his mouth so he opted to nod his head instead.

“Same. I’ve known both Jihoon hyung and Soonyoung hyung for three years, and then one day they meet each other and make my life hard.” This was Chan.

Seungkwan huffed, quickly stealing the mango slice that he saw Vernon eye. “They’ve even dragged me and Seok into this.”

“All the hyungs are taking bets about their love life, last I heard.” Vernon said, flicking ice at Seungkwan.

Seungkwan dodged. “Well, what do you guys think?”

“They’ll never get together unless there is some divine intervention, I swear, they both suck.” Chan voiced.

“Wonwoo hyung and Mingyu hyung gave Soonyoung hyung a pair of couple phone cases on the pretence that it’ll help them differentiate their phones.”

Chan fondly remembered the time he had to exchange their phones for them. “How did that go?”

“He shrieks very manly.”

“The dance team tried to give him all sorts of excuses to talk to Jihoon but it’s not going anywhere.”

“Geez, all of you taking part in the talent show making me feel left out.” Seungkwan pouted.

“You should join too, then all three of us will be in it.” Chan suggested.

“Hmm…”

“I got it! I’ll ask Jeonghan hyung to put you on the team with Jihoon hyung. They’re going to be singing. You can sing.” Vernon snapped his fingers.

“To be honest, I’m more interested in playing matchmaker.” Seungkwan’s eyes widened, “which is why that’s a great idea, Sol! Let’s have some competition among ourselves, whosever team manages to get the two together, will be exempted from paying his share of shaved ice for the next month.”

“Call!”

“Call.”

* * *

 

But Vernon was completely stumped as to what to do to make that happen. 

The team was on a break and Wonwoo was off in a corner, sitting cross-legged on the floor, reading. Mingyu pestered him. Seungcheol was the only one looking at lyrics.

Now was as good a time as any, he supposed.

“Guys, what happened to the couple phone cases you gave Soonyoung hyung? Is he using them?”

Mingyu let himself drop to the floor then. “I wish it were that easy.”

“He didn’t even accept them.” Wonwoo piped in. “Why do you ask?”

Vernon shrunk back a little. “Just curious. Their relationship is a hot topic now, you know.”

“We’ve been consulting every romance movie we know.” Mingyu whined. “But still no cigar.”

“Well most of them are unrealistic. We can’t give either one of them cancer, for a start.” Seungcheol supplied.

This seemed to tickle Vernon. “Maybe they need a super direct push.”

“Like what, we rap it to them during our stage?” Seungcheol joked.

Wonwoo tacked on. “Soonyoung and Jihoon sittin’ on a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g. Will they get together 1,2,3. Hoo, suspense is killing me. Check it.”

Mingyu blinked, Vernon blinked, Seungcheol double blinked.

“That’s great!” Mingyu exclaimed, bursting into a round of applause.

“What do you know, you’ve got talent.” Seungcheol fist bumped him in the shoulder. 

Vernon grinned toothily, although his was mainly about the potential free shaved ice for a month.

* * *

 

“So how did I get involved in this again?” Seokmin asked. 

“Look it doesn’t even matter anymore. All we need to do is implement this brilliant plan.”

“This brilliant plan involves abuse of power and invasion of privacy.” He pointed out.

“And practicing your singing really hard.” Seungkwan reasoned. “Besides, Jeonghan hyung, law student if you forgot, hatched it so we’ll just take everything to him if we have to.”

Seokmin frowned.

Seungkwan’s fingers tickle-attacked his side. “Smile for the camera!” And he snapped a picture.

“Good.” He commented, looking at his contained smile versus Seokmin’s blurry outburst. Then he uploaded the picture to his social media, where he knew at least half of everyone on campus followed.

Caption: We decided to take part in the talent show! We’re practicing really hard now so I hope you support us! ~ Your Boo

Seokmin retaliated by grabbing his neck. They both fell off their chairs, screaming.

* * *

 

**From: Lee Jihoon**  

Fixxxy iur speljjing

 

**From: Kwon Soonyoung**

r u ok?

 

**From: Lee Jihoon**  

Inm noy ok immdrj. Nk

 

**From: Kwon Soonyoung**

lol u shd slp

 

**From: Lee Jihoon**

Wxit yuou realy hhsve tobfixxx   ut

 

**From: Kwon Soonyoung**

yy?

* * *

 

When the sun rose on the day of the talent competition, it did so with its usual slow crawl, like it was just another day, nothing alive in the air. It was almost discouraging. 

At 5am, Soonyoung was already out of bed, routinely getting ready for the day.

At 9am, Jihoon was trying to bargain with his alarm again. And then the phone call came.

“Fuck off, Jeonghan.” He growled.

The line went quiet.

“Erm…” It was not Jeonghan.

“Soonyoung?” Jihoon asked, startling straight up. “Why?”

“Hehe, figured you would oversleep again. You do that a lot.”

Jihoon couldn’t help his smile. “Considerate.”

“That’s my middle name.” Soonyoung laughed. “I’ve got to go now, see you in the afternoon.”

And he was gone as suddenly as he came, left Jihoon in a sudden state of quiet. He shrugged, pulling himself up to get on with his day since he’d already awoken. His phone buzzed.

 

**From: Kwon Soonyoung**

i forgot to mention but good luck today!

im excited!

 

Jihoon put his phone away then, going off to do his thing, footsteps lighter, moves graceful.

That afternoon, the auditorium was filled to the brim with sound. They’d all done a rehearsal prior but it didn’t feel the same at all when every seat was full instead of just the first two rows.

A lot more people than he expected showed up, and though he thought he’d been accustomed to performing in front of people now, he could still feel pressure build in his stomach, pulling his body down. He clutched at the hem of his hoodie, the pink one, his favourite one.

At least Joshua looked like he was having it worse, knuckles white, knees shaking.

“Why are the actual musicians most tense?” Seungkwan teased.

“I know a great massage for nerves!” Seokmin volunteered. Then he stood behind Jihoon and proceeded to whack nonsensically.

Jihoon stumbled forward, glaring. “What was that?”

“Bap style, originating from India.” Seokmin replied, face straight.

Joshua and Jeonghan burst out laughing. Seungkwan leapt into the air, delivering a kick to Seokmin’s back.

“Kick, enhanced with flying.” He said.

Everyone was laughing now.

Then it was their turn to go on stage, one of the first teams.

The piece they decided on was a ballad song, with Joshua on the guitar. Jihoon didn’t know what to think when Jeonghan insisted on adding Seokmin and Seungkwan at first, since one of them actually called him out on their radio show. But the two got their spot on the show for a reason, he realised, probably due to how charming and open they were.

Plus, they could really sing.

Jeonghan suggested they do something acapella because it was trendy, which was as good a reason as any other.

Fast forward to the actual performance. Seungkwan and Seokmin went up first, introducing themselves and asking the audience to support them.

Then Joshua strummed his guitar a few times, lead them in with the first few words of the song. Now that the light was shining on them, a clear difference in echo with so many people around, Jihoon felt the words and melodies flow out of him naturally.

The audience was quiet, he heard himself and his team clearly. They were doing a good job, voices harmonious, but something scratches in his chest, he’s almost afraid it will interfere with his singing.

But together they deliver it perfectly, down to the last note, Joshua’s concluding strum hanging in the air, and the audience cheered, making up for the long period of silence with extremely loud clapping and cheering.

Jihoon let himself be hugged off the stage. Around him, Seungkwan was giving Joshua a high five. Seokmin and Jeonghan pointing to each other, high on energy.

“We did well!” They cheered, ignoring the performers, who had yet to take their turn, shoot them dirty looks. Giddily, they manage to find a space backstage where they could sit and listen to the rest of the performances.

A few acts later, Jihoon heard a few familiar beats and realised it’s the remix that Soonyoung had asked from him. Suddenly, his legs were itching to stretch, and he had to chew his cheek to stop himself from fidgeting.

He knew the tune like the back of his hand, not surprisingly, since he helped make the damn thing. He also knew, through back and fourth conversation, that the first clip, the strongest sound, was Chan’s part. Followed by a more sensual beat, a funkier beat, and then an actual audio clip from a gag show. He couldn’t even be surprised to learn that was Soonyoung’s part, of all things. And then it’ll bleed into a proper song until the end.

He followed the beat in his head all the way until the last note, and then he tossed his head back hard enough that he hit the wall behind, but he neither felt it nor cared.

A few more acts go by, which he half paid attention to, before he heard Seungcheol’s voice boom across the backstage.

“This one is an original written by us and it’s dedicated to all of you putting up with friends who are unsure about confessing to their crushes!” He shouted. The crowd shouted back. “It’s called Just Friggin Do It.”

The crowd went wild right away. Jihoon could feel his friends around him pair off, Seungkwan and Jeonghan, Seokmin and Joshua, as they leaned towards each other as if in whisper, except that they never said anything, occasionally casting glances at Jihoon.

It was getting warmer sitting against the wall.

“They’re doing well.” He said, trying to get rid of that need to do something. “They might win.” Because the winner was decided by audience votes and the cheering right now was almost as loud as the performers, somewhat drowning out their message of ‘they turn red in front of you, in front of that guy they blue’.

“No, I’m confident.” Seungkwan announced, smiling pleasantly.

Jihoon pressed into the wall.

Seungcheol’s group was the last of the day, the male MC calling for all the performers to come onto the stage together. There was a last minute appeal segment, where Seungkwan and Seokmin showed off their teamwork and ability to imitate anything under the sun, somehow even the sun itself, garnering loud whoopings from the audience. Even Jihoon laughed along at the sheer ridiculousness.

“And that’s the end of this segment, as the votes are being tabulated, will the performers please move to the seating area.” The female MC said, then turning to her partner, “wow, those were all splendid performances, which one was your favourite?”

“Well I am an honest guy, and I must say I really enjoyed all the girls that came on today.” He laughed.

As the whole troop of them laughed along, walking down, Jeonghan tripped over his own leg and crashed into the floor, making sounds of pain. Joshua surged forward immediately, “oh dear, are you okay? I’ll bring him to the infirmary!”

Just like that the two were gone.

Then Seungkwan inhaled loudly, “oh no, I have left something important back stage, Seokmin come with me.” He pulled the other guy away, essentially leaving just Jihoon by himself in the seating area with all the other contestants, feeling like he’d had all his limbs removed at once.

Still it was alright, Jihoon didn’t really believe they’d stand a chance with what he heard of some of the other performances. He sat on one of the chairs, butt on the edge, hands on his knees.

By now, the MCs were hyping the audience up for the reveal. Jihoon felt the whole area collectively hold their breaths, a sudden silence that grew from the front, stretching out in all directions.

“Alright, guys, you’ve voted and it’s time to present the winner! Drumroll!”

The sound of palms slapping thighs reverberated messily.

“The winner is… Vocal Team, congratulations!”

Jihoon stopped thinking. From his sides, the other people recognised him and were jostling him to go to the front, go up on the stage. Instead, his pupils dance about, trying to find a familiar face in the crowd.

But eventually he is persuaded up to the stage anyway, one person where there had been five. A wave of whispers grew alight in the crowd.

The female MC handed him the small trophy, smiling.

“And now, it’s time for the encore stage isn’t it?” The male MC shouted at the crowd.

Jihoon tried to decline. It was absolutely impossible for him to perform the same thing, that was undisputable fact, not even up for debate.

Then the first notes of the song come from the speakers, quelling the crowd’s confusion, and Jihoon thought there must be some mistake with the audio, they didn’t even use audio before. Then he realised what the song was and his hand fell limply by his side.

Wow, they played him good.

He squinted at the AV room, and sure enough he saw the figures of Seungkwan and Seokmin there, holding up huge boards with the words ‘just sing’, written all across in big blocky lettering.

Jihoon could barely hear himself over the pounding in his chest but he knows he managed to get the first words out.

 

_I’m standing on the last road for today  
It’s like this every day_

 

Here are a few pieces that Jihoon took out from the puzzle called his relationship with Soonyoung.

#1

Take that time when they got out of the library, when the last of the air-conditioning stopped hitting Jihoon’s back, like a farewell, bag tightly grasped in one hand.

He had been stupefied, the library was like a second home of sorts, homely and cooling. And because of this asshole, he was kicked out.

And said asshole was rubbing his foot on the floor beside him, producing a grating sound that was more annoying than Soonyoung himself. So he pushed, enough that the guy stumbled, foot having to leave the ground. He walked off satisfied.

Then his foot caught over something, he saw Soonyoung crouching from the corner of his eye and figured it must be his leg. His footing lost and the ground rapidly approaching, Jihoon’s thoughts shifted to one thing.

Fuck Kwon Soonyoung.

A hand reached out, his fingers curled into something, so he tugged with all his spite.

The next sensation he felt was not that of his head against the rough flooring, but a nose touching his. There were a pair of eyes way too close, he saw it widen but he wasn’t sure if it might have been his own that grew bigger, making it seem that way. A heat pressed against his chest.

Soonyoung took a long time to fall, going chest first, and then slowly it travelled down to his legs, like a wave. It was excruciatingly long. That’s why, just when Jihoon felt the other’s legs finally touch the ground, he punched him in the face and took himself away as fast as possible.

 

_In this big world  
I know I’m like a particle of dust_

 

#2

This one was when he left that train. When he hadn’t any idea what was actually going on at all, or where he was, blindly trying to get to somewhere else.

It was firm grip stopped him from going anywhere, a firm grip and a line, “you don’t have to be ashamed, cute as you look when you are.”

Jihoon said something mean. He only wanted this person to let go in that moment, and if he didn’t have the strength to pull, then he must try to push.

But even that didn’t work. The menace was persistent, so was the pressure around his wrist, which travelled until it was palm to palm, lacing their fingers.

He gave up trying to get away, painfully aware of what they must look like right then, so he decided it was good enough as long as he didn’t see it for himself. Look up, there would be Soonyoung. At eye level, there would be their hands. There wasn’t a real choice, Jihoon stuck to looking at the floor.

Occasionally, a leaf would tumble past, brought by the same nasty wind that irritated his eye with its sharpness but still he wouldn’t look up.

 

_Nothing is easy  
In this exit-less, maze-like world_

 

#3 

Or what about this one?

When Jeonghan gave him a few drinks one night, after they practiced their showcase a bit, an arm slung around his shoulder as he insisted they should relax sometimes, they were still young, still beautiful.

Seungcheol was in the room too, all the other vocal team members already having gone home. Turned out Seungcheol was Seungkwan’s cousin, and the older guy was basically pushing the other away from the alcohol. Seokmin followed his friend, and Joshua straight up didn’t drink.

Jihoon agreed.

He thought he’d only taken a few sips, but maybe the alcohol altered his memory because he found he could barely stand now, suddenly able to feel everything around him with clarity, from the chilly night air on the streets, to the smells of leather from the seats of Seungcheol’s car, and when he was deposited onto his bed, the echoing loneliness of his bare room.

Through the fuddle, he considered all his options for companions. From the friends whom he’d known a long time like Jeonghan, or Seungcheol, or Joshua to the people he’d newly met like Seokmin, or Seungkwan, and he thought of plausible reasons why he shouldn’t contact each one of them. Just saw them, too nosy, too noisy, don’t know well enough.

And running through his contacts, he would inevitably come to ‘K’, where there was Kwon Soonyoung. Soonyoung was comfortable to be around, he was funny, he would do, but what was there to say?

But of course, Jihoon must tell him to fix his spelling. It was important.

Soonyoung replied quickly, he always did except when he didn’t. He asked if Jihoon was okay. Jihoon giggled. No, he wasn’t, he was drunk out of his wits. Soonyoung told him to go to sleep.

But how could he? Because Soonyoung still had terrible spelling, and he texted as such. Soonyoung asked him why.

Why?

That was obvious. Because Jihoon couldn’t have a boyfriend who spelt like a dipshit on purpose, it would look bad on his resume.

For some reason, Soonyoung sent a bunch of laughing emojis. He told him to go to sleep again. Jihoon didn’t like that lack of conclusion, so he asked if going to sleep would make Soonyoung believe his words.

And Soonyoung told him yes, so he put away his phone and closed his eyes.

 

_Happiness is only a word  
It’s just a dream that everyone wants_

 

The dramas always lied, he guessed as much. Since they all got on the stage after Seungcheol’s group, the only thing he’d tried to do was find Soonyoung, just to affirm with his eyes that he was there. Til now, he hadn’t been able to see a trace of him. 

Yet as more song left him, his emotions started to swell anyway.

He’d written this song based on memories dear, and as he sang, they seemed to bloom afresh in his mind, painting his scene in vivid colour. It let him sing louder, bolder, daring to carry his voice further, wanting his voice to reach more.

 

_But that doesn’t make sense_  
I don’t even wanna believe that  
Yeah I just want it SIMPLE SIMPLE oh

 

Soonyoung had his jaw hanging open. The day started with dance practice, then classes, then the talent competition, and at the current point, he just wanted to watch and cheer Jihoon’s solo in peace. All the lights turned off except the ones above him, falling around his figure like a cape of wonder. He was in that hoodie again, his fingers disappearing into the cotton. 

But there was this boy who looked like he was either American or half, who came up towards him, he vaguely recognised the guy as one of Seungcheol’s friends, and stuffed a pair of couple phone cases into his hands.

He knew the design immediately, it was the exact same one Wonwoo and Mingyu tried to give him awhile ago. An image split into half so that if you put the two phones together, it formed one full picture, a ring.

Instinctively, he wanted to give it back. Say it was a misunderstanding. He even wondered if he was prepared to say it in English, just in case.

Those thoughts never complete, because then some hands were grabbing him, lifting him off the ground, taking him away.

He would scream, but he saw the back of Chan’s head, Minghao’s side profile, and Junhui’s arm. By the time he remembered how to speak, he was being put down on the edge of the stage, Jihoon just a few feet away.

Someone pushed him forward so that now he too was in the light. He looked behind, all three of his friends giving him the thumbs up sign.

He looked back ahead, and Jihoon had already noticed him. The guy never stopped singing, not for an instant, but he did never take his eyes off him.

Soonyoung swallowed. The words call him, coax his feet to move, and when he was just a few steps away, Jihoon extended his palm towards him first.

 

_I call you baby yeah  
Baby’s called my happiness yeah_

 

He had to hold that hand back. Jihoon still doesn’t stop singing, Soonyoung took in every word, feeling their significance with every part of him, his heart not as erratic as he predicted but warm and fluttery.

 

_I want it SIMPLE_

 

The song ends. Soonyoung is not ready for the silence yet.

So he got closer still to Jihoon, and he held up the phone cases. He watched Jihoon raise an eyebrow and he smiled.

“Lee Jihoon, I swear I will spell right for the rest of my life so, will you be my boyfriend?”

Jihoon laughed, but he took a case from Soonyoung’s hand.

And in a few hours, the rest of group was going to argue over whether it was the rap team’s victory for giving Soonyoung the pivotal phone cases, or performance team for physically carrying Soonyoung there, or vocal team for finely orchestrating the scene to begin with.

And in a week, Soonyoung will call up Jihoon again, early in the morning, and they’ll go hand in hand to submit their General Education assignment.

And in a few months, they would go to the tteokbokki shop for their date on Jihoon’s birthday, eating the non-spicy version, and then they’d catch a movie, and choose to walk home even though it was pouring.

But for now, neither of them saying a word, they draw close naturally, lips meeting the midst of all the screaming that they don’t even register, and it’s simply more than enough.

**Author's Note:**

> \- hi, hope you had fun reading d(^ ^)b
> 
> \- first, this idea originally stemmed years ago from a conversation with a friend and i had planned it for a different ship, different fandom, different dimension. then i forgot and stumbled across it while clearing my files and repurposed it for soonhoon because i love soonhoon.
> 
> \- hoshi's texting gave me an aneurysm. 
> 
> \- this is really just fluff, and crack, and nonsense rolled into one. i just finished war with my previous fic and decided, i should do something for valentine's.
> 
> \- honestly, the more i wrote it, the more dissatisfied i became but i will put it out anyway. happy valentine's day everybody! i'm single and crying about university applications hmu
> 
> \- a number of things got cut in my rush, i had a slower burn in mind but... eh
> 
> \- this might just be the most romcom thing i have ever written, but in any case i will henceforth, abstain from writing long fics for a while, i am drain.
> 
> \- thanks for sticking around if you did! see you next time!


End file.
